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Judges 16:15-21
As we continue to read through the story of the Judges I wish I could tell you that something would be better. But it doesn’t get better. There’s a reason we don’t hear about many of the other judges in Children’s Church or Sunday School or maybe Vacation Bible School. There is one we do usually hear about, and his name is Samson.
Samson is the last of the Judges. And like the rest, he fails miserably. He broke the vows that a Nazirite vowed his entire life. The list of his issues is long, too long for today’s devotional. Just know that it when we read his story it honestly seems he Doesn’t even attempt to live according to the Nazirite covenant promised to God before he was born.
But after all of that, where we pick up the story, Samson marries another Philistine woman – Delilah. When we heard this story as a kid growing up, didn’t it seem that it was about Samson who was good and Delilah who was all bad? But that’s not a good representation of what the Bible says about Samson.
Judges 16:15-21 (NIV) Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when you won’t confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven’t told me the secret of your great strength.” With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was sick to death of it. So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.” When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, “Come back once more; he has told me everything.” So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. After putting him to sleep on her lap, she called for someone to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him. Then she called, “Samson, the Philistines are upon you!” He awoke from his sleep and thought, “I’ll go out as before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison.
It’s very clear, from before his birth, Samson was special and he was to live a certain way and he knew it. In his final response to Delilah when we see him confess what gives him strength – he as much as admits he knows how he is supposed to live. But we find, just like today, his life was about serving himself. Even his last act was an act of revenge for what the Philistines did gouging out his eyes.
“What is the motivation for revenge? Is it a matter of justice? Righting a wrong? Or is it more a matter of dominance and control? What is to be personal matters we should heed the words of Paul, who counsels us to let God be the one to bring justice while we return good for evil.” Judges: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition © 2009 Robert D. Branson & Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City. (p139).
Romans 12:17-21 (NIV) Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says he Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Even in the end of this story, I’m not certain that God restored Samson’s strength so he could have his revenge, killing the Philistines and ultimately killing himself. There is no note here that the Spirit of the Lord – who left him when his head was shaved, came back to him to give him his strength. And it wasn’t said that God heard his prayer and relented, remembering the covenant – like earlier in this book. None of the wording used here implies that God is involved at all. What is noted, is that his hair started growing back after it had been shaved off.
I find that interesting. If you look at Samson’s life, never once did he deliver the Israelites from their oppressors. He killed a few here and there, but they were never driven out of the land – like what happened with the other judges in this book. Then look, even still, Samson retained his strength. Even though Samson did not fulfill his promise to God – or his parent’s promise to God – he still retained his strength. Which the writer ties back to his hair. But that brings me to this point, revenge is not a Christian thing. And I believe in this Scripture we can clearly see that revenge is what comes out of a selfish heart. Because revenge is not what we do, if we are a disciple of Christ.
The disciple of Christ is about two things: Loving God – with everything we are and loving others – as we love ourselves. Jesus not only reminded us of this, He said everything – all of the law and prophets hang on those two commandments.
As Christians to be able to love God and love others as Christ instructs us to, we only accomplish it if we let Christ rule and reign our hearts – so that the Holy Spirit conforms us to the likeness of Christ through the renewing of our hearts and minds.